Reality Roll Call

American Idol winner and NAACP Outstanding New Artist winner, Jordan Sparks has signed on to open for R&B diva Alicia Keys on her As I Am tour.

The 25 city tour will kick off on April 19 in Hampton, VA, and will wrap up in June in Alicia’s hometown of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Stops will probably include most major cities, as well as Montreal and Toronto.

Although it seems like you see the teenage Idol every time you turn on the tv, sales of her debut CD has been dismal at best. Actually, her debut sales were the worst in the show’s history, which is surprising since so many American Idol winner’s and runners up have been released recently from their label because of poor record sales.

There are probably two reason’s for that: the first being that AI is just a tv show, and just because the public is voting for their favorite it doesn’t mean they want their CD. I mean, if you were to ask me which I liked better; Coke or Pepsi, I would pick Coke. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to run out and pick up a case of Coke. Soda is far from my beverage of choice. But if that’s all you have while I’m visiting your house, I guess I’ll take a Coke.

Think of most American Idol winner’s as America’s Coke.

The second reason for the poor sales is the poor material on the CD’s, and the way they tend to homogenize the style of the winner. If any winner had a style that set them apart on the show, you can be sure the producers will have gotten rid of it by the time the album is released.

Hopefully, touring with the Grammy Award winning Keys will not only help Jordin Sparks develop artistically, but will boost her record sales. Who knows, maybe when the record label cuts Jordin, she will be able to make a decent album, with the help of Keys.